>>BlockzBot Defence - By CrySet Games

There's only a few sounds at the moment...(download at bottom of screen)

BlockzBot Screenshots can be found at the download URL (bottom)

Latest video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZB0apbUJ_I(Just a play through of the skirmish mode)

The Game...BlockzBot defence is a tower defence based game with a new type of twist.You play as a Bot (robot) in a world set in the future. The story is still being worked on and is likely to change. The main goal in each game is to survive a certain amount of waves, by either using your bot wisely, building towers/blockz or building units.

Features of the game:~ The bot:

~~Can be played in a top-down shooter sort of style.~~Has a lot of different purchasable upgrades (health, weapons, stats etc..)~~Can collect different items

~ Enemies:

~~Currently around 8 different types of enemies~~Some will directly attack blockz~~Some will directly attack units/your Bot~~Some are ranged, some are melee~~Spawn from any direction outside the map area~~Don't follow a path, they'll blast their way into your base

~ Blockz

~~Blockz can be purchased and placed adjacent to other blockz~~Can be upgraded into different towers, or upgraded in general (stats)~~Can be upgraded into defensive blockz (Large amount of health, protects towers and mainbase)~~Can be upgraded into minn (the game currency) gathering buildings

~ Units

~~Currently only 2 types of Units (Fortress and Punisher)~~Punisher is a small ship that deals heavy damage~~Fortress is a large ship that deals heavy damage and has a large health pool

~ Spells

~~Spells can be purchased and unlocked in-game~~There are currently 10 spells, 6 use minn, 4 use mana.

Updated the version to WiP-0019 - Changed the design around slightly. Added a temporary static tutorial and you now also have to press "insert" to enter the abilities section. Removes the "annoyingness" of being forced onto the screen.

Edit:Okay... I was actually gonna put this in a new post, but I didn't want to seem like I intended to try this then never came back, so I edited lol.

So I played the new version just now. Pretty cool. I really like the little graphical things, especially the mouse cursor and the "constructing wall" flashy effect. It's nice to be able to choose the screen resolution too.So the story is pretty neat, there's a lot of text, but not too much. I think it would be a bit better with pictures to illustrate it rather than just that one screen, especially since you seem to be good with graphics and stuff.I also like the idea that you can attack with the robot and the towers at the same time, and that you don't necessarily know which way enemies will come from, so that's going to be interesting to see where you can take it.

Some suggestions:=== It's hard to hit the "New Development" tab without scrolling upwards.=== Make Escape go back to the menu first instead of just quitting the game.=== You should be able to click and drag in a larger radius around the bot, or click on the bot then click on its destination to move. It sometimes took a couple of tries with the way you have it set up.=== There should be some way to skip the entire opening sequence and not just the tutorial. (I know it takes five seconds of clicking to skip the story, but you know what I mean, right?)

Anyway, it was quite fun. Nice job.

◊ TheUltimate ◊

Edited by TheUltimate, 15 July 2011 - 03:40 AM.

0

P.S. First Jam I've joined in like two years. Made by me and Snail_Man. Try it out!

Well, I read through the story, instructions etc, and the first thing I'd say is that all the writing is too small - I found it genuinely difficult to read. I think you should break the instructions down into a tutorial - basics, placing stuff, etc.

Secondly, you said that the screen resolution should be 1366x768. My computer screen isn't big enough to do that - you need to shrink that down a bit, I think.

Thridly, (this may have been my fault, or I misunderstood something) but the mouse couldn't move to the right hand side of the screen and I therefore couldn't do anything...? There seemed to be something happening off-screen, but I couldn't see it for this reason.

You need to fix these bugs if you want people to play and comment.

I'm sorry - it's all probably my fault, or I've misunderstood, but at the moment I cannot really feedback on your game as I don't think it was functioning properly, probably due to the screen resolution.

Well, I read through the story, instructions etc, and the first thing I'd say is that all the writing is too small - I found it genuinely difficult to read. I think you should break the instructions down into a tutorial - basics, placing stuff, etc.

Secondly, you said that the screen resolution should be 1366x768. My computer screen isn't big enough to do that - you need to shrink that down a bit, I think.

Thridly, (this may have been my fault, or I misunderstood something) but the mouse couldn't move to the right hand side of the screen and I therefore couldn't do anything...? There seemed to be something happening off-screen, but I couldn't see it for this reason.

You need to fix these bugs if you want people to play and comment.

I'm sorry - it's all probably my fault, or I've misunderstood, but at the moment I cannot really feedback on your game as I don't think it was functioning properly, probably due to the screen resolution.

I'll give more feedback when you update the game again.JUN

Thanks for the feedback. You didn't miss anything and the bugs weren't your fault. I assumed the game would play the same in all resolutions, but I suppose that isn't the case I'll stick an options room in there to change the resolution as soon as, and then update it. That should fix the text size as well and as for the tutorial, they're simply there as a place holder for now. I'm working on a better tutorial at the moment.

This is a lot of fun! One note - maybe add what the side things are, i didn't realize what was my money count for a while - should clarify this. Otherwise great job I can't wait for you to finish it.

I can write you a review - do you have a sandbox profile with your game uploaded?

If not thats fine

Also if you have some time check out my game too: SBX just a few threads down

Edit1: Oh gawd I just beat the demo... this game is hard! One gripe i have is that rockets are WAY too inaccurate - they miss so often that I lose so many defensive blocks - having them smart target tanks would be nice and maybe they can fire a little faster so that they hit more often : / they just MISS so much... like... shouldn't these towers have smart targeting this is what 2060? XD haha but FUN FUN FUN i like the new spin on TD

This is a lot of fun! One note - maybe add what the side things are, i didn't realize what was my money count for a while - should clarify this. Otherwise great job I can't wait for you to finish it.

I can write you a review - do you have a sandbox profile with your game uploaded?

If not thats fine

Also if you have some time check out my game too: SBX just a few threads down

Edit1: Oh gawd I just beat the demo... this game is hard! One gripe i have is that rockets are WAY too inaccurate - they miss so often that I lose so many defensive blocks - having them smart target tanks would be nice and maybe they can fire a little faster so that they hit more often : / they just MISS so much... like... shouldn't these towers have smart targeting this is what 2060? XD haha but FUN FUN FUN i like the new spin on TD

Ah of course, I forgot to add what the currency was in the tutorial! Oops.

No, I don't have a sandbox profile :/

I intended the first couple of levels to be easy, and then the game to start getting a little more difficult at level 3 onwards.

Did you manage to upgrade the Bot a few times?

Haha, the rockets are designed to miss quite frequently, this is because of the amount of damage they do. But if you upgrade the rocket towers past level 3, they get heat-seeking missiles I might move this down to maybe a level 2 upgrade? or reduce the cost of upgrades. After playing it quite a few times myself, I'v noticed that I don't get to upgrade towers that often because of the cost :/

Would you mind commenting on what the game looked like in your screen resolution? I'm finding it difficult to test properly.

I'd be grateful if someone could post a screenshot of what the 'Abilities and Upgrades' room looks like in a lower resolution than 1336x768.

Yeah moving the heatseaking missiles to level 2 would be a lot of help, yea i upgraded my bot as much as I could and I did beat all the levels available but I mostly got money upgrades so I could build more towers, maybe I should have upgraded him to tank a bit more damage cause at level 3 he was almost getting 2 shot by tanks XD, or better speed to strafe the bullets

Made a few chances to the game graphically (level designs, new home screen etc). Added a new enemy to test and also changed a few things round (like cost of tower upgrades etc). + A new level (with the new enemy in).

Edit:Okay... I was actually gonna put this in a new post, but I didn't want to seem like I intended to try this then never came back, so I edited lol.

So I played the new version just now. Pretty cool. I really like the little graphical things, especially the mouse cursor and the "constructing wall" flashy effect. It's nice to be able to choose the screen resolution too.So the story is pretty neat, there's a lot of text, but not too much. I think it would be a bit better with pictures to illustrate it rather than just that one screen, especially since you seem to be good with graphics and stuff.I also like the idea that you can attack with the robot and the towers at the same time, and that you don't necessarily know which way enemies will come from, so that's going to be interesting to see where you can take it.

Some suggestions:=== It's hard to hit the "New Development" tab without scrolling upwards.=== Make Escape go back to the menu first instead of just quitting the game.=== You should be able to click and drag in a larger radius around the bot, or click on the bot then click on its destination to move. It sometimes took a couple of tries with the way you have it set up.=== There should be some way to skip the entire opening sequence and not just the tutorial. (I know it takes five seconds of clicking to skip the story, but you know what I mean, right?)

Anyway, it was quite fun. Nice job.

◊ TheUltimate ◊

Thanks for Playing

I was trying to add a lot of small graphical effects, so I'm glad someone noticed a few

As for the suggestions:

You can press 'B' as opposed to clicking 'New Development', but I forgot to mention that in the tutorial. I suppose it is a little hard, but in my current version I'm going to move it about, along with the entire HUD I think, need to make space for some freeze spells etc

The escape button problem is a good suggestion, not on the top of my priority list though

Aye it is difficult to click and drag the bot, thanks for pointing it out. I'll try and make it easier to click for the next release.

I'v fixed the last suggestion now, added a skip button like the ones for the tutorial.

Thanks for the suggestions, do you mind me asking what screen resolution you played in? And whether you think it might be better to add a few more options of resolution sizes?

I love an open invitation to criticise someone's hard work. There was not much to criticise since I only ran the game for a few seconds. I love GM games that allow you to play in windowed mode. Testing someone's game while having another game up while listening to music is quite fun. Being forced to play in full screen (those small graphics stretched to fit my monitor) just forced me to hit random buttons to try and get a windowed mode. Well it wasnt long before i found a button called "esc" that got the job done close enough. I was able to go back to my music and my other game and browsing the forums to find the next game to test out.

So i ask you, please add and option for windowed mode (while your adding options ad the option to mute the sound if its not already there, and by mute i mean turn volume down various levels to the point where its completely off).Just think, if i could drag that out for that long, just think how much i could have written about your game.

I love an open invitation to criticise someone's hard work. There was not much to criticise since I only ran the game for a few seconds. I love GM games that allow you to play in windowed mode. Testing someone's game while having another game up while listening to music is quite fun. Being forced to play in full screen (those small graphics stretched to fit my monitor) just forced me to hit random buttons to try and get a windowed mode. Well it wasnt long before i found a button called "esc" that got the job done close enough. I was able to go back to my music and my other game and browsing the forums to find the next game to test out.

So i ask you, please add and option for windowed mode (while your adding options ad the option to mute the sound if its not already there, and by mute i mean turn volume down various levels to the point where its completely off).Just think, if i could drag that out for that long, just think how much i could have written about your game.

You'll be happy to know that there isn't any music/sound for the game yet, so you'll be able to listen to your own music just fine. And instead of hitting random buttons to find windowed mode, try the GM default (F4).

The game is quite well polished and looks good. I managed to finish the demo.

The camera system was a little annoying. Felt to sensitive... and the button to create new developement was in a terrible spot (maybe theres a shortcut key that i missed when i skimmed the tutorial).

One of the most promising looking game maker games ive played in a long time. Keep at it.

Thanks I'm addressing the new development button issue, and also now that you've mentioned it, I'll address the camera system. You didn't miss the shortcut in the tutorial, I forgot to put it in there :/ Pressing 'b' shortcuts clicking 'New Development'.

Update:~Added 2 more levels to play.~Made some much needed graphical improvements~removed a lot of fade transition effects~Added a couple of new spells~Added a 'Repair Bot'~Changed the way the Bot is played

Hi, i've played a bit of your game. I've noticed some annoyances/potential improvements:

When i select the low resolution (1024*768) and keep the game in windowed mode, the window becomes 1366*768 pixels but the game itself is 1024*768. This results in a big black bar on the right side.
When the game starts the vieuw is not directed above my base but i'm scrolled at the upperleft corner, i have to find my base myself.
It would be handy to have a minimap of some sorts.
To select a robot/turret the current system is clicking it. It would also be nice if you could drag a box around the robot (or robots) and select it that way.
It would also be nice to recieve more information as a player when you select a turret or robot (see it's upgrade stats, health ect.)

I hope it helps you develop your game further. So far it's looking good!

Hi, i've played a bit of your game. I've noticed some annoyances/potential improvements:

When i select the low resolution (1024*768) and keep the game in windowed mode, the window becomes 1366*768 pixels but the game itself is 1024*768. This results in a big black bar on the right side.When the game starts the vieuw is not directed above my base but i'm scrolled at the upperleft corner, i have to find my base myself.It would be handy to have a minimap of some sorts.To select a robot/turret the current system is clicking it. It would also be nice if you could drag a box around the robot (or robots) and select it that way.It would also be nice to recieve more information as a player when you select a turret or robot (see it's upgrade stats, health ect.)

I hope it helps you develop your game further. So far it's looking good!

1. Hmm, I'd not noticed that, thanks for pointing it out I'll get it sorted for the next version2. This is on the to-do list, and will probably be implemented in the next version 3. A mini-map was considered, but the idea of not knowing where the enemies are/where the enemies are coming from was much more important I think. Maybe an upgrade that allows the user to buy a 'radar' block, enabling a mini-map?4. I'll stick this one on the to-do list, I agree having to look for the bot and click on it can be an annoyance. I'm also going to add a hotkey for selecting the main bot.5. I wanted to steer away from giving the usual details such as "Range" or "Damage" as I don't want this to be 'just another tower defence'. But obviously something to let the user know what level his tower is at would be nice, so I'll add that. I'm also going to add different turret sprites for each level, so that should help differentiate between the levels.

Thanks for playing and for the help, I'll try to fix the bugs/improvements above for the next version

UpdateHaven't been able to work on this for about a week or so due to being busy. However, I'v updated the download and released a new version.

New Feature: Units

Units can be 'warped' into game for a certain amount of Minn (Currency) - At the minute, there are only 2 purchasable units, and they cannot be controlled. I'm wondering whether to keep the units as they are now (You'll see what they're like when you play), or allow the user to control them, in a slightly RTS type style. Thoughts?

Just tried the updated version, and I still like it.The first thing I thought when I read the story was that if the GmbH-19 are as intelligent as humans, wouldn't they have made up a name for themselves instead of using the codename they were given? Even if it's supposed to be like "oh they're TOTALLY not a real species so their name doesn't count" you could still mention it anyway, since bad guys need a personality too.

About the map, there is SO much empty space on the left side. You should make it so that when you hover over an unlocked city, instead of the name appearing directly underneath the mouse, a box appears on the left side with a short description/history/picture of the city (just to add to the story and make it that much more awesome.) Make sure you list some random stats at the top like population and geographical coordinates so that it feels like a mission briefing, since the cutscenes all seem to indicate that you're travelling between these places. Add "proximity to main enemy base" or "Threat Level" so that you get an idea of the difficulty without having to number the levels or something boring like that.

Yeah, I should probably mention something about the gameplay too:It's still fun. There doesn't seem to have been much of a change since last time I played, so there's not much else to add to that or what others have said.You need more terrain features, too, just for the aesthetic. Most of the screen's one colour, which looks kind of bland (And I know you can do better. I've seen your website )Some minor gripes is that it takes too long to get enough money to buy anything and the wait between the first couple of waves is a little too long. I see that you're going for sort of a relaxed tutorial, but even if you halve the time between waves, I don't think anyone's gonna complain. You need a minimap too, I accidentally scrolled somewhere while I wasn't looking, and for a second there I thought I wouldn't be able to find the base. Lucky that the map is small.Also, clicking on New Development should allow you to create as many as you want in quick succession, then left clicking to disable it. It'll save a couple of seconds for when the game gets more hectic.

So yeah, another really long post again. I actually did enjoy your game, so sorry if I sound kind of critical. Hope it helps at least.

◊ TheUltimate ◊

0

P.S. First Jam I've joined in like two years. Made by me and Snail_Man. Try it out!

Just tried the updated version, and I still like it.The first thing I thought when I read the story was that if the GmbH-19 are as intelligent as humans, wouldn't they have made up a name for themselves instead of using the codename they were given? Even if it's supposed to be like "oh they're TOTALLY not a real species so their name doesn't count" you could still mention it anyway, since bad guys need a personality too.

About the map, there is SO much empty space on the left side. You should make it so that when you hover over an unlocked city, instead of the name appearing directly underneath the mouse, a box appears on the left side with a short description/history/picture of the city (just to add to the story and make it that much more awesome.) Make sure you list some random stats at the top like population and geographical coordinates so that it feels like a mission briefing, since the cutscenes all seem to indicate that you're travelling between these places. Add "proximity to main enemy base" or "Threat Level" so that you get an idea of the difficulty without having to number the levels or something boring like that.

Yeah, I should probably mention something about the gameplay too:It's still fun. There doesn't seem to have been much of a change since last time I played, so there's not much else to add to that or what others have said.You need more terrain features, too, just for the aesthetic. Most of the screen's one colour, which looks kind of bland (And I know you can do better. I've seen your website )Some minor gripes is that it takes too long to get enough money to buy anything and the wait between the first couple of waves is a little too long. I see that you're going for sort of a relaxed tutorial, but even if you halve the time between waves, I don't think anyone's gonna complain. You need a minimap too, I accidentally scrolled somewhere while I wasn't looking, and for a second there I thought I wouldn't be able to find the base. Lucky that the map is small.Also, clicking on New Development should allow you to create as many as you want in quick succession, then left clicking to disable it. It'll save a couple of seconds for when the game gets more hectic.

So yeah, another really long post again. I actually did enjoy your game, so sorry if I sound kind of critical. Hope it helps at least.

◊ TheUltimate ◊

Ah yeh. I suppose they would have given themselves their own name. I could mention it, but stick with the humans calling them GmbH-19 because of the statement you made above: "oh they're TOTALLY not a real species so their name doesn't count".

Yeh, the left of the map is far too empty, but the next version has a different map background which I think people will prefer (there's hardly any empty space). The map is going to be the main focus for the next version, so things like a little picture to represent it and a bit about its background will be added. The population, threat level and coordinates are a nice idea. I'll be adding that. Thanks.

Hmm, I thought the maps looked ok in terms of design - but maybe they do need things like possibly cracks in the earth for underground levels, and patches of grass etc for the grass/green levels. Is that what you meant? I really reduced the wave timers for this version. You're waiting less that 500 steps between waves on the first few missions, baring in mind around 20 enemies are sent each wave, and the timer doesn't wait for all the enemies to die before it starts counting down. You'll find that in the later missions, the more time between waves, the better. As you'll need to repair your base... a lot. I sort of scrapped the minimap idea. The reason being is that I don't want the player to know where the enemies are. That's why the maps are small(ish) - so you don't loose where you are.There is actually a system for creating new developments like that, but I (think) I forgot to put it in the tutorial. Pressing 'B' does the same as pressing 'New Development'

Criticism is what a game needs to help it improve, so thank you. Hopefully you'll play the final release when it's done in a (good) few months time.

Alrighty just a few things - level 1 is actually a little bit tough (tougher than it used to be i think too)- i didn't really have enough mins to upgrade a whole lot of towers, but there were enough minions to kill my base super easily by the 4th wave or so, since it is a tutorial level it should definitely be a lot easier.

Also: If you fail level 1 - you are stuck and it just says you failed if you try to do it again. You should fix this so it clears and you can try again.

And why don't you have a sandbox - downloading from cryset is so annoying XD. Silly Adfly. anyway, minor issue, but you might want to add an auto updater or something since you have to jump through a few hoops to download the game. Fans like me will still try it, but just sayin for other people.

Yeah, i tried to get more into the game, but after failing level 1 cause i was kinda just looking around at stuff I couldn't continue - Def make level 1 easier and then make the difficulty ramp up later so people will get into the game. Esp for a tutorial level. It should basically be like: if you upgrade your tower once you win. or something stupid like that, definitely easier.

Anyway excited to see new updates and gluck with the game! I'll try it again sometime a few patches later :D.

Alrighty just a few things - level 1 is actually a little bit tough (tougher than it used to be i think too)- i didn't really have enough mins to upgrade a whole lot of towers, but there were enough minions to kill my base super easily by the 4th wave or so, since it is a tutorial level it should definitely be a lot easier.

Also: If you fail level 1 - you are stuck and it just says you failed if you try to do it again. You should fix this so it clears and you can try again.

And why don't you have a sandbox - downloading from cryset is so annoying XD. Silly Adfly. anyway, minor issue, but you might want to add an auto updater or something since you have to jump through a few hoops to download the game. Fans like me will still try it, but just sayin for other people.

Yeah, i tried to get more into the game, but after failing level 1 cause i was kinda just looking around at stuff I couldn't continue - Def make level 1 easier and then make the difficulty ramp up later so people will get into the game. Esp for a tutorial level. It should basically be like: if you upgrade your tower once you win. or something stupid like that, definitely easier.

Anyway excited to see new updates and gluck with the game! I'll try it again sometime a few patches later :D.

Level 1 is really that tough? I found it extremely easy, but that's probably because I know how the game works and what the best upgrades are. I'll cut down the amount of enemies for the next release.

I'm going to add an option to CrySet within the next few days so that people can choose whether or not to use ad.fly on their games, so I'll take it off for BlockzBot Defence. I'm going to add an auto-updater eventually though.

Cheers for playing, If you find any of the later levels too difficult let me know. Also, it's best to max out your Bots firing speed and damage before anything else, then buy the heat-seeking rockets upgrade

Yeah, I was just dicking around looking at stuff which is what you can expect most new players to do, so you'll want it to be almost stupidly easy for yourself. Think about it from the perspective of a completely new player, I know that's tough to do I always tune my games why too hard at first as well. But Ill give it another swing after the next release and try again from the *newb* type of player and test out the difficulty so that you can get some valuable feedback.

Yeah, I was just dicking around looking at stuff which is what you can expect most new players to do, so you'll want it to be almost stupidly easy for yourself. Think about it from the perspective of a completely new player, I know that's tough to do I always tune my games why too hard at first as well. But Ill give it another swing after the next release and try again from the *newb* type of player and test out the difficulty so that you can get some valuable feedback.

Edit: Wait... is cryset YOUR site? if so that's pretty badass man!

Didn't think of that - looks like I might need to change the difficulty of the first few levels then...

Are you making a lot of money off your site? how does it generate revenue for players? I wouldn't be able to post my game there cause I am using licensed music, but I'm just wonderin :D

Revenue is earned from adf.ly and Google Adsense, but I'm hardly making anything from the site. Everything the site makes gets paid to the developers/players. There's a discussion in the distributing games section of the GMC for the site here